title: Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in donkeys (Equus asinus) in Italy.
abstract: Toxoplasmosis, an important zoonosis, can be transmitted by eating meat or drinking milk of animals infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Samples were collected from 238 donkeys in the year 2010 in Italy, which included 207 females and 31 males of five breeds and crossbreeds with the average age 9 years (1 month-24 years). Sera were tested for T. gondii antibodies using a latex agglutination test and the indirect fluorescent antibody test; 5 and 8% seropositivity were recorded, respectively. We found significant correlation between the presence of T. gondii antibodies and sex, age, grazing and presence of cats on the farms and their access to donkey feed. This is the first detection of T. gondii antibodies in donkeys in Italy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackého tř. 1/3, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Tereza
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Machacova
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bartova
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Loria
authors.forename: Kamil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sedlak
authors.forename: Ugo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fusco
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fulgione
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Veneziano
authors.forename: Jitender P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dubey
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D018397:Equidae; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000662:veterinary; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D014122:Toxoplasma; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*